Then again, so were his sources of inspiration when it came to playing the part.

To create Captain Jack Sparrow, a kooky buccaneer with gold-capped teeth in Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl, the actor drew on his two favourite pop culture figures - grizzled Rolling Stones veteran Keith Richards and cartoon skunk Pepe LePew.

Explaining why, the France-based American star says: "Keith's kind of a pirate, because pirates were sort of the equivalent of the rock `n' roll stars of the 18th Century.

"They're on the road, there's the freedom, the adventure, women, outlaw behaviour, all that."

Depp, a rocker himself before he broke into acting in the late 1980s in the teen television series 21 Jump Street, is a big fan of the Rolling Stones founder member.

And he says filmgoers shouldn't expect his performance to be any sort of imitation of Richards.

"It's more of a homage to him, I think he's one of the greatest rock stars of all time."

As for the Pepe angle, this is a skunk who smells awful but thinks he's irresistible. "He has blinkers on and only sees what he wants to see," says the actor.

Depp's resultant pirate is a colourful character and he muses: "Maybe he's a guy whose brain is cooked from the sun a little, who has spent way too much time on the water."

The 40-year-old actor was somewhat surprised to be asked to take on the role - based on the Disney theme park ride - by producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Bad Boys, Black Hawk Down).

Depp usually stars in offbeat movies like Ed Wood and Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas but here he was being offered a part in a Summer blockbuster.

He said: "I was really surprised to be honest when they came to me. I tip my hat to them for being brave enough to take that risk."

He seems equally bemused about why he agreed to play the sea-dog, saying: "There wasn't a concept at all, just the ride and the title basically, that's what I was approached with initially. For some reason it sounded good. "

Depp was joined on the rollicking adventure by two young British stars - Orlando Bloom, who stars in Lord Of The Rings, and Keira Knightley, of Bend It Like Beckham acclaim.

And he ended up being very fond of his grubby pirate with the gold teeth and unkempt hair. Indeed he had a hard time letting go of the freewheeling character.

"I missed Captain Jack, I felt so comfortable being him it was like going through a period of decompression after the film," Depp confesses.

He's signed up for any sequel, but admits that doesn't mean he'll definitely be on board.

Depp returns to more edgy ground for his next role, playing children's writer J M Barrie, in Neverland. And he'd still love to finish Terry Gilliam's ill-fated The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which collapsed early in production in 2000 in Spain.

"Every time I speak to Terry we've talked about it and he's still very enthusiastic. If he wants to do it I'll be there."

Should Pirates Of The Caribbean prove a world-wide hit, don't expect Depp to rush back to Hollywood. He's happy living in France with singer-actress Vanessa Paradis and their two young children, Lily, four and son, Jack, born last year.

"America is kind of like Disneyland, it's a nice place to visit and spend some time in, but I don't think you want to live there," says the former Florida-native.

Being a father and living in France keep him grounded, he says. "Things that would have made me upset and angry before, things about Hollywood or paparazzi, stuff like that, you can sort of ignore."

That's why Depp has so much sympathy for his ex-girlfriend, Winona Ryder, and her recent, much publicised, trial over shoplifting charges.

He says supportively: "She was unfairly beaten up in the media, it was ludicrous. Knowing how smart and strong she is, she'll come out of that stuff."